Structured sampling refers to the use of a combination of
sampling and model-based methods. Instead of sampling the acoustic
pressure wave, as in any typical audio recording, we sample more
fundamental physical quantities such as an impulse response
[452] that can be used to provide the desired level of both
audio quality and model flexibility.

An advantage of sampling more fundamental characteristic signals such
as impulse-responses is that they are often largely invariant with
respect to controller state. This yields a far smaller memory
footprint relative to brute force sampling of the acoustic pressurewave as a function of controller state.

There is an approximate continuum between sampling and physical
modeling. That is, there is a wide range of possible hybrids between
computational physical modeling and interpolation/manipulation of
recorded samples. More computing power generally enables more accurate
modeling and less memory usage.